


WK4: Making Bail

by Mice



Category: The Lone Gunmen (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Challenge Response, Established Relationship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-09-08
Updated: 2004-09-08
Packaged: 2019-02-05 17:46:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12799230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mice/pseuds/Mice
Summary: Well Kept series: Byers gets his ass arrested. Who the hell else is gonna bail him out?





	WK4: Making Bail

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

Author's Notes: GAAAAAH! Another Peja challenge. Peja, you 

are evil. Evil, I tell you. I hate you. 

 

CORONA-TECH OFFICES

GROVER'S MILL, NEW JERSEY

3:14 AM

 

The unsettling click of the cuffs at his wrists turned Byers' 

stomach. He knew he shouldn't have tried to follow this up 

alone. The guys were out of town, nowhere near a working 

phone. He wasn't sure where to turn for help, and he'd need 

to be bailed out.

 

Getting arrested sucked. He should know. It happened to him 

often enough.

 

The irony of being arrested in Grover's Mill while following 

up a lead on an alien abduction wasn't enough to amuse him. 

He sighed, shoulders slumped.

 

He half-listened as he was read his rights and shoved into 

the back of the police car. Naturally, his contact had 

escaped unseen. There would be no evidence on video, as he'd 

disabled the cameras before they infiltrated. Unfortunately, 

the clumsy idiot had tripped one of the silent alarms before 

Byers had been able to finish his security protocol breach. 

 

He wished Frohike and Langly had been there. At least Langly 

would be able to make the records disappear easily enough 

when the guys got home. He shuddered to think what his arrest 

record would look like otherwise.

 

Who could he call? He pondered it during the drive to the 

station. Mulder wasn't a good candidate. If he got distracted 

between the phone and the door, Byers could be stuck in the 

cell for a week. 

 

Scully? Probably still pissed at him for Las Vegas. She might 

leave him for a day or so just to make him suffer before she 

came for him.

 

Walter Skinner was right out. Skinner would make sure 

everyone knew why he'd been dragged out of bed before 4 a.m., 

and Byers would never hear the end of it.

 

Now, Doggett -- he might do it. Byers still wasn't sure how 

far Doggett would go for him, even after the mess they'd been 

in so recently. Pull his ass out of the crossfire, sure, but 

get up at Oh God Thirty and drive to New Jersey to bail him 

out? He sighed again and shook his head. There wasn't anyone 

else. He'd have to take his chances. If Doggett wouldn't come 

for him, maybe he'd at least call him a lawyer.

 

DOGGETT RESIDENCE

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

3:42 AM

 

Doggett startled awake when the phone rang. He peered at the 

clock, groggy. 3:42 a.m. God, whoever was calling, it had 

better be an emergency.

 

"Doggett," he growled. "What."

 

"I, uh, I really hate to wake you, Agent Doggett, but --" 

There was uneasiness in the voice, a little fear.

 

Oh, God. It was Byers.

 

His eyes snapped open, heart pounding. "What happened? Where 

are you? You hurt? What about the guys?" If Rohrer had gotten 

to them -- no, he couldn't think that. If it was Rohrer, 

Byers wouldn't be in any condition to make a phone call.

 

"I'm fine, but I've been arrested. I'm in Grover's Mill, New 

Jersey. Would, um, would you come bail me out?" He sounded 

embarrassed.

 

"Arrested? What for?" Doggett stretched, suppressing a yawn, 

and sat up.

 

"B and E," Byers said. "I'd really rather not go into it 

right now. If you can't come, would you at least call me a 

lawyer? I'm at the county jail in Grover's Mill."

 

Doggett groaned. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be there. Don't say shit 

to anybody if you haven't already. It'll be three or four 

hours, though."

 

"Okay," Byers said. "I... Thanks. I really appreciate it. 

I'll pay you back somehow."

 

Doggett snorted. Byers was broke as a church mouse and they 

both knew it. He'd figure some way to get Byers out without 

it costing an arm and a leg. "Yeah, whatevuh. Lemme get on 

the road. I'll see you when I get there."

 

He staggered to his feet and went to wash his face. It 

wouldn't do to fall asleep while he was driving. Suit. He 

should probably wear a suit and look official. Maybe he could 

snow the county guys, tell 'em that Byers was one of his 

informants. They might buy it, and it was true, sorta.

 

What the hell was Byers doing in New Jersey anyway? Grab the 

keys. Coffee. He thought about installing an IV drip of the 

stuff, but his hospital stay was a little too fresh in his 

mind for that to be a comfortable joke. He'd stop at Denny's 

on the way out of town.

 

Once he was on the road, windows open, radio blasting, he was 

awake enough to focus. Sometime during the drive, he was 

going to have to call Skinner and explain why he wasn't gonna 

be in to work today. Thankfully, he was between cases. It was 

supposed to be a paperwork day. He could catch up when he 

finally got home. Reyes would cover some of it for him. Shit. 

He'd have to call her, too.

 

Even if everything went well and nobody asked any questions, 

he wouldn't be back until at least noon. If there were 

serious snags and they had to wait for a bail bond, it could 

be late afternoon before he even got Byers out of the cell, 

much less got them both home.

 

The idea of Byers in county lockup with a cell full of drunks 

and assholes didn't make Doggett very happy. Byers had become 

his friend -- his lover. Hell, Byers had risked his life for 

him, and he wasn't gonna let him rot in some cell if he could 

help it. He wasn't sure how safe Byers would be there, 

though. A quiet guy like that, he could get the crap beat out 

of him, or worse.

 

Yeah, he'd tell the county guys that Byers was one of his 

informants. Breaking and entering -- it was a lot of what 

Byers and his weird-assed friends did with their time. That, 

and chasing after shit that even Mulder thought was strange. 

Byers always insisted that he only followed up the stuff that 

seemed likely, but the Gunmen's definition of 'likely' didn't 

match too many other people's.

 

COUNTY SHERIFF'S LOCKUP

GROVER'S MILL, NEW JERSEY

7:37 A.M.

 

Byers had refused to answer any questions when they brought 

him in. After calling Doggett, he told them he wasn't going 

to speak until he had an attorney. They'd put him in the 

drunk tank. It was punishment for his obstinacy, he supposed. 

They wanted to know what he'd been doing, and he wasn't about 

to tell them.

 

He shifted himself closer into the corner of the cell. One of 

the guys there was so drunk he kept trying to grope him. He 

didn't think the guy was gay, just so soused he couldn't tell 

Byers was a man. Several of the other inmates found the 

situation amusing. One had tried to hold him down and let the 

drunk paw him, until a guard had come along and broken it up. 

He'd tucked himself into a corner immediately afterward and 

stayed there.

 

The drunk was still eyeing him when the guard came back.

 

"John Byers," he snapped.

 

Byers stood up. "Yes?"

 

"Somebody here for ya. Come on."

 

Doggett must have arrived. Byers let out a relieved sigh and 

dashed for the door. The cop cuffed him again and led him 

away. 

 

They walked down a long hallway, then went down two floors 

and the cop took him into the duty sergeant's office. 

 

"This yer informant?" the cop asked.

 

Doggett nodded and waved toward a chair across the room. The 

cop shoved Byers into it. "Keep yer ass there, pal. You 

twitch, we toss ya back in with the horny drunk."

 

"Stupid shit," Doggett said, glaring at Byers. "You're gonna 

compromise the operation."

 

"Sorry," Byers muttered. He lowered his eyes. He wasn't sure 

what was going on, but figured he needed to play along.

 

"Shut up. I got a desk fulla paperwork to fill out 'cuz of 

you." Doggett turned back to the sergeant. "Okay, now where 

did you say you picked him up?"

 

"My guys found him in the Corona-Tech offices. Pockets of his 

clothes were full of a bunch of electronics gear. We figured 

industrial espionage or something. What are you Feds up to 

there, anyway? Anything you shoulda notified us about?"

 

Byers sat, silent, and waited. Doggett and the sergeant went 

back and forth about jurisdiction, disclosure, warrants, and 

at least two hours worth of other legal trivia before he was 

addressed again.

 

"Okay, Agent Doggett, you can have your snitch back. Keep his 

stupid ass out of my county."

 

"You got it," Doggett said. "Come on, Byers."

 

Byers stood as the sergeant uncuffed him and released him to 

Doggett's custody. Neither of them spoke until they got into 

Doggett's truck.

 

"Thanks," Byers said. "What do I owe you for bail?"

 

Doggett shook his head. "You're not hurt, are you?" He put a 

hand on Byers' shoulder. Byers fought an urge to hug him. He 

knew there was surveillance here.

 

"The only thing damaged in this mess was my dignity."

 

"What the hell were you doin' breaking into that place?" 

Doggett started the truck and pulled out of the lot.

 

"Trying to get a story," Byers said, with a sigh. "I should 

have waited until the guys got home, but the informant was 

insistent that we had to move tonight. It would have been 

fine, but the guy tripped over his own damned feet and set 

off one of the silent alarms. By the time I realized what 

happened, the cops were coming in the door."

 

"And that informant of yours?"

 

"Gone. I have no idea where he disappeared to."

 

Doggett gave him a look. "You sure you weren't bein' set up?"

 

"If it were a setup, someone else would have gotten to me 

before you did."

 

Byers could see concern flash through Doggett's eyes as he 

glanced back at the road. "I suppose that's true."

 

"I'm sorry," Byers said. "I didn't mean to get you into this. 

The guys, they're gone for a few more days, and I didn't have 

anyone else to call."

 

"It's okay. I called Skinner and told him I might not be in 

today." He laid a hand on Byers' knee and squeezed. "I'm just 

glad you didn't get your ass hurt or anythin'. That shit in 

New York..."

 

"I'm sorry, Jack. Really. I'll pay you back."

 

"Didn't cost me anything. I bullshitted the duty sergeant. 

They released you without bail."

 

"Are they charging me with anything?"

 

"No. Got 'em convinced you're part of a federal 

investigation. The records of your arrest are gonna be 

expunged."

 

Byers slumped back into the seat. "Thanks. That's a relief."

 

"Am I gonna end up doin' a lot of this?"

 

"I hope not."

 

"How often do you guys get your asses arrested, anyway?"

 

"I try not to think about it," Byers said. He gazed out the 

side window at the traffic.

 

"You need to be more careful. I can't be doing this much. I 

can only use the informant excuse so often before it starts 

gettin' around."

 

Byers looked back at Doggett. "Why did you do it in the first 

place?"

 

"I owe you."

 

Byers shook his head. "No. What happened -- I couldn't just 

run."

 

"It was a brave thing you did, Johnny. Stupid, but brave."

 

"What else could I have done?"

 

"You could have run, like I told you."

 

"What's done is done, Jack."

 

"Just -- Jesus, Johnny, try to be more careful. Try to stay 

out of this kind of shit. I really don't want to see you get 

hurt."

 

Byers put a hand over Doggett's where it rested on his knee. 

He squeezed gently. Doggett's concern moved him.

 

"Really, I'm okay. I didn't get roughed up, though one of the 

drunks in the tank did try to grope me." Byers chuckled. It 

wasn't quite so alarming now that he wasn't actually in the 

cell with the man.

 

"Grope you?"

 

"He was very, very drunk."

 

"Well, I mean, I can understand somebody wanting to grope 

you, but I think a little privacy would be in order."

 

"Jack!"

 

Doggett grinned. "Well, I gotta have some amusement. You did 

haul me out of bed at 3:30 in the morning here."

 

"What time do you think we'll be back home?"

 

"Probably sometime between one and two this afternoon. I'm 

not gonna get any work done today."

 

Byers nodded. "I'm sorry."

 

"Nah. Don't be. If you get in trouble, don't be afraid to 

call me. I'll do what I can to help you out."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Byers sighed. It was strange, the idea that he might actually 

have someone to rely on other than the guys. He liked it, 

though. "I really appreciate it, Jack. That means a lot."

 

"It's what friends are for, yeah? Watch each other's backs?"

 

Friends. That felt right, felt good. "Yeah, I guess it is." 

He smiled, then bit back hard on a yawn. Fighting it did no 

good though.

 

"God damn, Johnny."

 

"Sorry. I've been up for... I'm not sure. Maybe 36 hours 

now."

 

"I'm pretty tired too. Maybe we should stop and catch some 

sleep."

 

Byers rubbed his eyes. "I'm okay sleeping in the car, unless 

you want to stop. I've already messed your day up pretty 

badly. I don't want to make things worse."

 

Doggett shook his head and squeezed Byers' knee again. "Nah. 

Some sleep would actually help. Food, too."

 

"Okay," Byers said. "Next exit?"

 

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan."

 

MOTEL FIVE MOTOR INN

ROOM 15

10:30 A.M.

 

Doggett looked around at the small two-bed room. "Food first, 

or sleep?"

 

Byers seemed exhausted. Doggett hadn't really gotten a good 

look at him before. Checking him over too closely in front of 

the duty sergeant and the other cops would have looked odd, 

and after that he'd been too busy driving.

 

"Sleep," Byers said. He sank down onto the nearest bed. 

 

Doggett sat next to him. "Can't say as I blame you. You look 

fried."

 

Byers nodded. "Yeah." He started unzipping the front of the 

black jumpsuit he was wearing. The pockets were heavy with 

all the equipment the police had returned to him.

 

"Here, let me help." Doggett took it by the collar and let 

Byers slip his arms out of it.

 

Byers pulled his t-shirt up over his head and tossed it 

aside. Doggett started rubbing his shoulders.

 

"Mmmm." Byers let his hands fall to his lap and leaned into 

Doggett. Doggett slipped his arms around Byers. "Feels nice," 

Byers mumbled.

 

"Yeah," Doggett said. He pulled Byers closer. "You think 

we'll be okay here?"

 

"I don't know," Byers said. His eyes were half closed. "I'm 

too tired to move. I had no idea I was so exhausted."

 

Doggett set his gun on the stand next to the bed. "Anybody 

tries any shit, I'll deal with it."

 

"You did put out the 'do not disturb' sign, didn't you?" 

Byers asked. "I really don't think it's a good idea to shoot 

the maid."

 

Doggett chuckled. "Yeah, I did. Nobody's gonna be botherin' 

us. We'll get to rest."

 

Byers stood to slip his legs out of the jumpsuit. Doggett 

wanted to hold him, but figured it could wait another couple 

minutes until they got in bed. He tossed his clothes onto the 

other bed and took Byers' from him.

 

"Lie down," Doggett said. "I'll be right with you."

 

Byers pulled back the covers and slid underneath, still 

wearing his boxers. Doggett pulled off his socks and climbed 

in next to him. He tucked himself up against Byers and 

wrapped an arm around him.

 

"Mmm." Byers shifted his weight so the length of his body met 

Doggett's.

 

"You feel good," Doggett said, kissing the angle of Byers' 

jaw. "I'm glad you're okay."

 

"Me too." It was barely a whisper. "Thanks for coming to get 

me."

 

"Always," Doggett said, tightening his arm around Byers and 

snuggling close. With a sigh, he tucked his nose into Byers' 

hair. He wished could sleep like this every night. "Always."

 

~~End~~


End file.
